A Chat with Kim Johnson, the Newly Appointed CEO of the Tulsa City-County Library

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Kim Johnson, who became chief executive officer of the Tulsa City-County Library on January 1st. After more than 15 years as an employee of the TCCL, Johnson seems like a perfect fit for this leadership post. She's very committed, of course, to books and learning and literacy -- and to the vital purpose of libraries within society today -- and she's the first African American to lead the 24-branch system that is the TCCL. A TU grad -- and also the wife and parent of TU grads -- Johnson grew up in New York City, and her first job with the TCCL was as coordinator of the African-American Resource Center. She then went on to be the South Broken Arrow Library manager, Hardesty Regional Library manager, regional director, and chief operating officer, among other positions. Johnson talks with us about her plans and goals for the TCCL, both long-term and in the near future. Also on today's show, a commentary from Connie Cronley: "Dognition."

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On this edition of StudioTulsa Medical Monday, we welcome Dr. Lisa Miller, an author and psychologist whose latest book, a bestseller called "The Spiritual Child," is now out in paperback. Dr. Miller -- who wrote an article for Time.com last year based on this book entitled "Why Kids Who Believe in Something Are Happier and Healthier" -- is the Director of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University's Teachers College, and she joins us by phone.

(Note: This interview first aired in early June.) "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Or so goes the old saying. But what do we really mean by this? And how does "showing up" in life -- or, if you prefer, routinely exhibiting "perseverance" -- relate to things like intellect, talent, drive, discipline, and so on? On this installment of ST, our guest is Dr. Angela Duckworth, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania who has advised the White House, the World Bank, and both NBA and NFL teams.

(Note: This interview originally aired back in May.) We speak with Susan Cain, who ignited a national conversation a few years ago with her widely celebrated nonfiction book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking." That book challenged how we see introverts -- and how introverts see themselves -- and was mainly focused on the workplace. But now, as we learn on today's ST, Cain is back with a new book, which is aimed at kids and their experiences in the classroom.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we listen back to a discussion that originally aired in February of last year. At that time, we spoke with Julia Clifford, the director of a documentary film called "Children of the Civil Rights." This film tells the little-known yet true story of a group of schoolchildren in Oklahoma City who -- for nearly six years -- staged Civil Rights-era sit-ins at various diners and lunch counters in OKC. These protests began in 1958, more than a year before the far more familiar Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-ins occurred.

On this edition of our show, we welcome Gary Shaffer, CEO of the Tulsa City-County Library. The TCCL's Central Library, in the heart of downtown Tulsa, has recently entered its "public phase," with direct fund-raising appeals being made to the public to complete the mid-century-modern building's vast, thorough, and state-of-the-art renovation. Demolition of the building's interior is now complete; the actual construction of the new Central Library has begun.

On this edition of ST, we welcome back Tulsa City-County Library CEO Gary Shaffer. He joins us to describe in detail the TCCL's newly renovated Central Library, which will re-open to the public tomorrow morning (October 1st) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. For the past two years or so, the Central Library branch -- which originally opened in 1965 near Fifth and Denver in downtown Tulsa -- has been getting a complete overhaul, both its exterior and interior.

When the TCCL's Martin Regional Library opened its Hispanic Resource Center in 1999, the noted author and journalist Roberto Suro was the inaugural speaker. Now, as this facility marks its Quinceañera (or 15th Anniversary), Suro returns to the Hispanic Resource Center to talk about his latest book, "Writing Immigration: Scholars and Journalists in Dialogue," and to discuss changes in the U.S. Latino community over the past decade and a half. Suro's address is free to the public, and it happens tonight (Thursday the 2nd) at 7pm at the Martin Regional Library (2601 S. Garnett Road).

In 1965, a NASA engineer turned on the lights at Tulsa’s Central Library for the first time through a satellite link. Next Saturday, the downtown branch reopens after a three-year, $50 million renovation.

Central Library got a complete overhaul inside and out. Tulsa City-County Library CEO Gary Shaffer expects the number of visitors to jump from 1,100 a day pre-renovation to 2,200 a day now.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Alton Carter, an Oklahoma Book Award-winning author whose memoir, "The Boy Who Carried Bricks," was originally published in 2015. It's a painful-to-read yet ultimately uplifting autobiography that details Carter's growing up in smalltown Oklahoma. Carter will be participating in the upcoming "Chapters" event at the TCCL's Hardesty Regional Library, on September 8th at 6:30pm; this event is a fundraiser in support of adult literacy programs, and the deadline to register for it is September 1st.